Autumn Series week 1 round up

I must have been in England for too long now and I sometimes find myself referring to England as “we” and every time I’m thinking “NO, I did it again.”
But, for today at least, “We” will refer to France.
Saturday against Australia was one of our good day. We played to our potential and gave an under-strength Aussie side a thumping. Our scrum and our forwards were ultra-dominant to lay the platform while Fred Michalak, who was also on one of his good days, stirred the troops around the park superbly.
In the past, I would have expected the worst for next week against Argentina following such a display but with Philippe Saint-Andre in charge I feel more confident.
If the former Sale manager brought something back from England it is the need to perform consistently at high standards to put yourself in a good position of winning every week.
France can be the best side in the world on their day but performing consistently at that level is crucial inn Test rugby. If we would have been used to play at this level more often we probably would have won the last World Cup.
Now for the other big performance of the weekend.
New Zealand‘s winning streak record took a blow three weeks ago in Brisbane but, with their display yesterday at Murrayfield, we should be there again in 16 games.
In Europe, we think rugby is about a lot more that “Run hard, Hit hard” but the All Blacks prove week-in week-out it’s all you need to dominated world rugby.
Yes, they are talented and their skill level, especially when it comes to offloading, is far and beyond above average but their game is ever so simple.
They are also the most opportunistic team around and if you give them half a chance, you’ll be having a team chat under the posts soon after.
But they can be put under pressure and eventually beaten.
Like any team if you put them under pressure by “Running harder and Hitting harder” than them, like Scotland did at the start of the second half yesterday, you’ll get chances. Then you must take them and you could be in with a shout.
Scotland couldn’t do that though and wasted at least three very good opportunities when they could have come back into the game.
Andy Robinson must be frustrated but it gives them a good platform to work from. If they can start the game putting pressure on South Africa on Saturday and maintain that pressure, we could be in for an upset.

England had a pretty good day on Saturday with a record win over Fiji. It was’t perfect by all means but it’s the start they needed to carry on building.
The performance of the day came from Alex Goode though. There was debate over his selection ahead of Harlequin Mike Brown but he was a constant threat with ball in hand showing his class with countless counter attacks.
Brown has been the best full-back for over a season now but with a bruising midfield of Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi you must pick a full-back with good distributing skill and Goode is stronger than Brown in that aspect.
The inclusion of an outside centre like Jonathan Joseph could help Brown to make his way in though.
Despite the win, England have lost the highly coveted 4th IRB ranking spot which will spare you the daunting task to face either New Zealand, Australia or South Africa in the next World Cup.
We, France, have taken over but a win against the Aussie on Saturday and England could claim that spot back and it’s fair to say they must be licking their lips with the idea of beating the Aussies at HQ.
But the men from Down Under love to beat England and there’s no doubt that they will raise their game next week. It promises to be a fierce battle up front but, if England can hold on, they will be in with a chance to get one past them.
The weekend wasn’t as good for Wales and Ireland though.
The Grand Slam winners suffered a defeat against Argentina but more worrying was the way they played. Argentina are a good team and others will lose to them in the future but Wales had no answer to counter attack the Pumas’ renowned passion.
They couldn’t do the basics right and were made to pay by an opportunist as ever Argentinean side. The loss of Jamie Roberts and Alan Wyn-Jones is also a big blow for them
A big reaction is expected next week or the next three weeks could be very long for the Welshmen.
As mentioned earlier, Test rugby is about taking your opportunities. You can dominate but, if you can’t convert good position into points, it’s likely you will pay for it later. Ring any bells? That’s right, Ireland’s loss to South Africa.
They dominated to take a 12-3 lead after half an hour but couldn’t add to that advantage after that. Even worse, they couldn’t score a single point when Springbok winger JP Pietersen was sent to the bin.
And what happens when you don’t take your chances in Test rugby? Right again! You pay for it.
When Irish captain Jamie Heaslip was binned early in the second half, South Africa scored ten points to take the lead and never looked back.
The men in green didn’t play superbly well but did the job and they keep building their team winning. For Ireland, things would be much easier if the back line could be on par with the forwards. They need to create more and eventually score more tries from the platform the forwards lie for them. Test rugby is about “Running hard and Hitting hard” but it is also about scoring tries.
NICK VERDIER
@nickverdier